We had the good fortune of connecting with Elise Harlow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elise, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I knew that I wanted to help make nutrition easy for people. There is so much nutrition noise out in the world and I have seen food go from enjoyable to stressful for so many people. My goal was to help people love food for both the amazing things it can do for the body as well as for the enjoyment of eating and I knew starting my own business was the best way to go about this.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is The Flourished Table, an online nutrition consulting practice. I develop custom meal plans to help others work nutritious meals into their busy lifestyle and do worksite wellness presentations. Additionally, The Flourished Table is a resource for healthy, easy too make recipes with the goal of showing people that eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring. Lastly, I partner with an Integrative Women’s Heath and Fertility doctor (Dr. Jennifer Roelands of Well Woman MD) to guide clients on how to integrate nutrition into their medical protocols.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my favorite cities in Orange County is Laguna Beach. It feels like a vacation as soon as you get down there. The coastline and the crystal blue waters make it absolutely breathtaking. My favorite place to hike in Laguna is The Top of the World. My favorite beach is off West street in South Laguna or Cresent Bay in North Laguna. West street is a bit of a hike to get down there but once you are there, you are tucked away in a beautiful beach that is typically not very crowded. My favorite places to eat and hangout are The Rooftop, The Deck, and South of Nicks (I highly recommend getting to taco salad with spicy ground beef). Outside of Laguna Beach, another favorite hike of mine is Crystal Cove in Newport Beach. I like to start off Ridge Park Road (you will park at the park at the top) and then walk towards the ocean. I typically turn around about 2 milesin, to make it a 4 mile round trip. However, if you continue the hike you will end up in Crystal Cove State Park. Lastly, I love picnics. One of my favorite picnic spots is Corona Del Mar. You can either have your picnic down in the sand at the beach or up at the top in the grass overlooking the ocean. You can’t go wrong.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout my mom for showing me from a young age how amazing food can be for both nourishment and enjoyment. If it wasn’t for her love of home cooking and high quality food, I would not have chosen the career path I chose or be where I am today;.

Website: www.theflourishedtable.com

Instagram: @theflourishedtable

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elise-harlow-ms-rdn-19a75ba2/

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